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Small business loans in Appleton, WI

Short answer

The most active SBA lenders in Appleton, WI since FY2024 are American National Bank-Fox Cities (9 loans) and U.S. Bank (9). The median loan was $190,250, and half fell between $50,000 and $349,750. For free help, see the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.

SBA loans since FY2024
70
approved since FY2024
$30.06M
median loan
$190,250
through SBA Express
40.0%

Lenders making SBA loans in Appleton

No lender made more than 13% of the loans in Appleton, and American National Bank-Fox Cities made the most. The five largest lenders together made 51%.

Lenders with five or more SBA loans in Appleton, WI, FY2024 to June 2026
LenderLoansShare
American National Bank-Fox Cities912.9%
U.S. Bank912.9%
Nicolet National Bank710.0%
The Huntington National Bank68.6%
Old National Bank57.1%

Share is the percent of all Appleton loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for Wisconsin where one exists.

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Local help near Appleton

Appleton borrowers can start with SBA's district office for Wisconsin, an SBDC or SCORE.

40% of Appleton borrowers since FY2024 were startups or businesses two years old or younger. SBDCs provide counseling and training, and SCORE mentors give advice at no cost, according to SBA.

SBA has one district office for Wisconsin. Its page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in the area. The Wisconsin Small Business Development Center gives free counseling across Wisconsin.

Alongside SBA loans, Wisconsin runs four loan programs. The Wisconsin page describes each, and the official pages are linked here.

Loan counts and sizes in Appleton

Appleton ranks 4th by loans since FY2024 among the 9 Wisconsin cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 363rd busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.

The 70 loans, 2.8% of the 2,534 in Wisconsin, were approved for $30.1 million in all. The medianThe middle figure. Half the loans were larger and half were smaller. loan was $190,250, 27% above the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $50,000 and $349,750. The Appleton median is 7% below the Wisconsin median of $204,500.

Appleton, WI compared with Wisconsin and the nation, loans from FY2024 to June 2026
MeasureAppletonWisconsinU.S.
Loans702,534162,355
Median loan$190,250$204,500$150,300
25th percentile$50,000$75,000$50,000
75th percentile$349,750$500,725$500,000
Via SBA Express40.0%32.0%35.8%
Lines of credit30.0%23.9%28.1%
Startups24.3%18.4%16.1%
Ownership changes31.4%17.7%10.4%
Median term10 years10 years10 years
Median spread2.52.252.75
Charged offFewer than 52.1%3.6%

A quarter of loans were smaller than the 25th percentile loan and a quarter were larger than the 75th. Median spread is in percentage points over Prime. Charged off is the share of FY2020 to FY2022 loans a lender wrote off as a loss. It is shown only for groups of 30 loans or more. Fewer than 5 marks a share that would stand for 1 to 4 loans, which we do not publish. U.S. covers every loan in the file.

40.0% of all loans went through SBA Express, above the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 30.0% of loans, close to the national 28.1%.

SBA loans in Appleton, WI by size, FY2024 to June 2026
  • $50,000 or less (33%)23
  • $50,001 to $150,000 (13%)9
  • $150,001 to $350,000 (30%)21
  • $350,001 to $500,000Fewer than 5
  • $500,001 to $1,000,000 (7%)5
  • $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 (9%)6
  • Over $2,000,000Fewer than 5

Labels show each size's share of all loans. The highlighted bar is the size band that contains the median.

By business age, 28.6% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 15.7% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 24.3% and changes of ownership 31.4%. The national startup share is 16.1%.

SBA loans in Appleton, WI by fiscal year
  • FY202028
  • FY202144
  • FY202232
  • FY202319
  • FY202429
  • FY202526
  • FY2026 (through June 30)15

Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.

Volume fell 10% from FY2024 (29 loans) to FY2025 (26), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2021, with 44 loans. FY2026 already shows 15 loans through June 30.

Of the 104 loans Appleton borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, fewer than 5 were charged offThe lender wrote the loan off as a loss because it was not being repaid. by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. Lenders reported 509 jobs supported across the 70 loans since FY2024, about 7.3 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.

What businesses in Appleton borrow for

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries was the largest borrower group in Appleton, with 5 loans or 7.1% of the total.

The three largest industries made up 21% of all Appleton loans.

Industries with the most SBA loans in Appleton, WI, FY2024 to June 2026
IndustryLoansShareU.S. share
All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries57.1%0.9%
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers57.1%2.1%
Residential Remodelers57.1%2.3%

Share is the percent of all Appleton loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the Wisconsin page for that industry where one exists.

A typical loan payment in Appleton

The median Appleton loan was $190,250 with a median term of 10 years.

The median variable-rate loan in Appleton was priced at Prime plus 2.5 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.50%. On $190,250 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $2,462 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.

Payment at today's rate on three Appleton loan sizes over 10 years
LoanAmountMonthly payment
25th percentile loan$50,000$647
Median loan$190,250$2,462
75th percentile loan$349,750$4,526

Principal and interest only. Fees, a different term or a fixed rate change the payment. This is an illustration from SBA's file, not an offer.

SBA's rate ceiling for this loan size

SBA's maximum for a loan of $190,250 is Prime plus 6.0 percentage points, or 13.00% today. The median variable-rate loan here was priced 3.5 points under that ceiling. Source: 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395).

Appleton loans approved since FY2024 had a median starting rate of 9.25% at approval, against 10.25% nationally. Prime changed during those years, so use the spread above, not that rate, as the guide to today's cost.

Run your own numbers: payments on a $200,000 loan and SBA Express payment calculator.

SBA 504 loans near Appleton

Appleton has 14 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $13.5 million in SBA and CDC dollars.

The median 504 loan in Appleton was $851,000 in SBA and CDC dollars, 17% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.

WBD, Inc. is the one Certified Development CompanyA nonprofit that SBA certifies and regulates to arrange 504 loans together with a bank. (CDC) named on five or more loans, 27 since FY2020.

CDCs named on five or more 504 loans in Appleton, FY2020 to June 2026
Certified Development Company504 loans
WBD, Inc.27

How a 504 loan is split

A standard 504 project is 50% third party lender, 40% CDC debenture, 10% borrower. 504 money pays for major fixed assets such as land, buildings and long-term machinery and equipment, not working capitalMoney for day-to-day costs such as payroll, rent and inventory. Full definition or inventory. Source: SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221). SBA keeps a list of Certified Development Companies.

Wisconsin cities near Appleton

Appleton made up 2.8% of Wisconsin's SBA loans since FY2024.

Appleton is one of 9 Wisconsin cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The Wisconsin page covers all 2,534 loans in Wisconsin. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.

Common questions about SBA loans in Appleton

Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Appleton?

American National Bank-Fox Cities leads with 9 loans in Appleton since FY2024. U.S. Bank (9) and Nicolet National Bank (7) follow. Only lenders with five or more Appleton loans are counted.

Which industries get SBA loans in Appleton?

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries leads with 5 loans in Appleton since FY2024. Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (5) and Residential Remodelers (5) follow.

How to read this

Counts come from SBA's 7(a) loan-level data release, as of June 30, 2026. The file lists loans SBA approved. It does not list declined applications, so it cannot show approval odds. We do not publish any figure built on fewer than 5 loans. Location is the borrower's address in the file, and city names are as SBA recorded them. Recent means FY2024 through June 30, 2026. Charge-off rates use FY2020 to FY2022 loans, the only years old enough to have had time to go bad. Jobs supported are lender-reported estimates. How we build these pages.

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Tell us what you need and we refer your request to lending partners.

Janover Capital LLC is not a lender and is not the SBA. The lender makes the credit decision. A lender or marketplace may pay us a referral fee if we connect you, at no cost to you. Advertiser disclosure.

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